Wink Crigler: Fourth-Generation Rancher and Keeper of Arizona's X Diamond Ranch

Who Is Wink Crigler?

Sarahmarge "Wink" Crigler is a fourth-generation rancher who keeps her family's heritage alive at the X Diamond Ranch in South Fork Canyon, Arizona. Her great-grandparents settled the land in the 1890s, which puts the family's roots in Arizona ranching from nearly the start of the modern cattle era in the territory. This profile covers her public professional record only, drawn from the National Cowgirl Museum announcement of its 2025 class.

What Ranching Looked Like When the X Diamond Began

To understand the family's staying power, it helps to know what the 1890s were. Cattle had reached southeastern Arizona with Coronado's expedition in 1540, which brought 150 head, and Jesuit Father Eusebio Kino spread herds and sheep through his missions from 1687. After the Homestead Act of 1862 and the arrival of American settlers, ranching grew quickly: Colonel Henry Hooker founded the Sierra Bonita Ranch in 1872 and Sheriff John Slaughter set up his ranch in 1884. By the early 1890s, a Heritage Square history of Arizona ranching reports about 1.5 million cattle on the territory's ranges.

Then came the bust. Overgrazing and the worst recorded drought, in 1892 and 1893, killed up to 75 percent of the range animals by that source's account. More than 200,000 cattle were shipped out of the territory by June 1893, and the taxable value of Arizona cattle fell from about $12.8 million in 1893 to about $6.6 million in 1900. A family that settled land in the 1890s was arriving as the industry learned a hard lesson about carrying capacity.

Running a Ranch Across Four Generations

Crigler is described as a rancher who preserves her family's heritage at the X Diamond, and the ranch has also become a destination for outdoor recreation and Western hospitality. That mix of cattle, land care and visitors is a common survival strategy for long-held family ranches in the West. The announcement does not list herd size, acreage or breeds, so none are claimed here.

The Ranching Heritage Alliance

In 2008 Crigler co-founded the Ranching Heritage Alliance, which supports sustainable ranching and land stewardship. That move shows where her work extends past her own fence line: toward the policy, education and community side of keeping working ranches on the land.

Honors and the 2025 Hall of Fame Induction

Beyond the 2009 Forest Service award, Arizona named her a Culturekeeper in 2012, and the Arizona Historical Society honored her as a Historymaker in 2017, alongside Sandra Day O'Connor and Barry Goldwater. In 2025 she became one of four inductees into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. The induction was set for Tuesday, November 18, 2025, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The announcement from the Cowgirl Museum itself notes the Hall already includes more than 260 women who shaped the Western way of life.

Learn More

For more on how Western ranch families work today, the ranching section of farm.FM follows the business of cattle. A related read is a farm.FM story about Arizona ranch heritage.